‘Tis the season for the Holiday Pops

By Jody Feinberg/The Patriot Ledger

Sunday

Nov 26, 2017 at 6:45 AMNov 26, 2017 at 10:35 AM

BOSTON – Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart has celebrated the holiday season with audiences for more than two decades, and this year its spirit of caring and generosity are especially important to him.

That’s why he selected Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” as a centerpiece for the the 44th annual Holiday Pops, which opens Dec. 5 at Symphony Hall.

“I can’t think of one of those 23 years (when I’ve conducted) where there has been so much vitriol and contention,” Lockhart said. “There are so many signs that we really need to be reminded that being human involves a responsibility to one’s fellow humans.”

In a distinctively Holiday Pops fashion, this “A Christmas Carol” is enriched. Read by actor Will LeBow, the story is accompanied by The Tanglewood Festival Chorus and a large screen display of story illustrations by celebrated Irish children’s book author and artist P.J. Lynch.

“The whole thing is set against a background of well-known Victorian carols that will take people back to the London of Dickens’ time,” Lockhart said. “And the visual images are gorgeous.”

Wearing a festive red shirt., Lockhart will kick off the program joyfully with “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” and the “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s Messiah. The orchestra also will play selections from Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” and a new commissioned arrangement by David Chase for the 1950s classic “Ring Those Christmas Bells.”

While that song may be a revelation to the audience, another arrangement by Chase has become a Pops favorite performed nearly every year for the past decade. In “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” Chase inventively wove in melodies from “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Oklahoma,” “Sound of Music” and other widely recognized works.

“People love the creativity and the surprises of the ‘Twelve Days,’” Lockhart said. “And with ‘Ring Those Bells,’ they’ll hear a very fun song they probably don’t know.”

Amidst the decorations that make the usually unadorned hall feel like a party venue, audiences can join a sing-along for “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “Let it Snow! Let is Snow!” and other classics.

Lockhart wants the Holiday Pops to reach as broad an audience as possible. He conducts six matinees for children, as well as performances in Worcester, Lowell, Providence and Manchester, N.H.

A good warm-up for the season comes when the Boston Pops Brass Quintet plays at the Hingham Holiday Stroll tree lighting Nov. 28 and at the Boston Common tree lighting Nov. 30, joined by the Boston Pops Gospel Choir.

After Christmas, the focus changes from holiday fare to “Bugs Bunny at the Symphony II.” As Bugs Bunny cartoons – such as “The Rabbit of Seville” and “What’s Opera, Doc?” – play on a large screen, conductor George Daugherty will lead the orchestra in classic works by Wagner, Rossini, Strauss, Smetana, and other composers.